How to Be an Excellent Ambassador for Christ

As Christians we are ambassadors for Christ. It’s a big calling on our life, but it is also a big responsibility. We are given different spiritual gifts, opportunities, natural talents, and experiences to use for good in our personal spheres of influence: family, friends, co-workers, and others.

The Bible says: “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us” (NIV, 2 Corinthians 5:20a).

To be Christ’s ambassadors means that we are citizens of Heaven and that this world is actually not our home. Our true home is with Christ in Heaven. We are not of this world, so we don’t have to feel like we have to fit into it or live how the world lives.

We are called to be different from this world in order to reflect Christ like we ought to.

Jesus was different. Jesus was countercultural. And we are called to do the same as his ambassadors. We are called to show God’s love to others. And we are also called to live in peace with others as much as is possible without compromising the truth.

We are on earth not to create strife but to stand for the truth in the most loving way possible so that others can see God’s light in us.

We are called to be different, to be an example, to be someone who points others to Christ.

The Bible says: “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (NIV, Matthew 5:14-16).

God wants our light to shine before others in order to bring glory to our Heavenly Father. God wants us to do good and live godly exemplary lives.

So what practical things can we do to live out that calling?

First of all, that means not conforming to the world we live in and really embracing that we are indeed not of this world. We are here to represent Christ in the most honoring way possible.

But how exactly do we do that?

The Bible says: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (NIV, Romans 12:2).

In order to not be conformed to the pattern of this world we need to know a better way to live. And we can find it out by reading God’s Word. If we soak ourselves every day in God’s Word, then we will be renewing our minds every day according to God’s truths. And if we persevere in doing that, then this will result in a transformation in us as a person.

Real lasting transformation comes not from the external change of our behavior, but rather from the internal change of our minds that then set the tone for everything we do.

The Bible then goes on to say in Romans 12:2 that if we renew our mind and get transformed, then we will be able to test and approve what God’s will is. So the key to really knowing what God wants us to do with our lives is simply reading His Word and being transformed by it.

For example, before I accepted Christ into my heart and started reading the Bible at the age of 18, I had no way of knowing what was the right way to navigate dating. I was just a teenage girl doing what everyone else was doing or, to be more precise, intending to do what everyone else was doing once I had a boyfriend. Fortunately, I did not have a boyfriend until I became a Christian and found out about God’s design for dating and marriage, so I was spared of a lot of mistakes.

But as a young teenager I thought that it was okay or even right to live for few years with your boyfriend and see if you are compatible to marry. That’s what I saw on TV, and that’s what some young people I knew were doing. It seemed to be the norm.

Whenever we do not have an objective norm to tell us what is right and what is wrong, we start looking around at what others are doing. And that’s what I did.

But once I became a Christian at the age of 18, I started learning about God’s design for dating and marriage. Over time my mind was transformed by God’s truths, and I decided to save myself until marriage. Fast forward 3 years and God has brought a godly man into my life, who also kept himself pure for his future wife. We were married one and half years later, both in our early twenties.

Some people I know were really surprised to hear that we were marrying so young. In their culture people got married only in the late twenties. Others I know asked me why we were waiting until marriage. Some even tried to advise me to first live together to see if we were compatible to marry, but we did not choose that path and instead chose to follow God by waiting until marriage.

And while having waited till marriage does not make us any better than people who do not, it was a countercultural decision to make. We did not make it just to be different from others or to say that we are better, but rather, we wanted to honor God with our relationship. And we also wanted to be an example to other young people out there who do not know the truth so that they can be inspired by us and start searching for that truth themselves and hopefully come to Christ.

I wish I could say that I am always a good ambassador for Christ. Truth is, I am not. I fail miserably and I often do not represent Christ as I ought to.

And while I cannot excuse myself for this wrong behavior, I am comforted by the fact that there is no condemnation for those who are God’s children.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (ESV, Romans 8:1).

Are you living a different life from the rest of the world? What are the areas of your life in which God is calling you to be different from the world?

Being an ambassador for Christ is not just about standing strong for the truth and being different from the world. It’s also about simply doing good. It’s about using all the gifts, opportunities, money, and other things God gave us to serve others.

I first became attracted to Christianity when I saw another Christian give away lots of money to help others. That is what made it compelling to me – when I saw that someone had so much conviction in what they believed about God that they would give away so much to others.

It’s our good deeds that make others interested to know more about the God we believe in.

So what good things can we do to bring glory to God?

We can serve our families, we can serve in our church, we can serve our communities. We can volunteer, we can use our gifts for God’s glory, we can use our ability to make money to be able to give and help others financially.

We are all different and so we are called to serve God in different ways. For example, I love writing so I try to use my writing to help others online.

In what ways can you serve God now with what you have?

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